Ernst Ludwig Theodor Henke (22 February 1804 in Helmstedt – 1 December 1872 in Marburg), was a German theologian and historian, and the son of the theologian Heinrich Henke (1752–1809). He was the father of anatomist Wilhelm von Henke (1834–1896).
From 1820, he studied at the Collegium Carolinum in Braunschweig, then continued his education at the Universities of Göttingen and Jena, where he was influenced by Jakob Friedrich Fries (1773–1843) and Ludwig Baumgarten-Crusius (1788–1843). In 1826 he received his doctorate of philosophy, later returning to Braunschweig, where he taught classes at the Collegium Carolinum. In 1833 he was appointed an associate professor of church history and exegesis at Jena, followed by a full professorship at the University of Marburg (1839).[1]